Retired Air Force officer admits to bribery

Jul. 13, 2014 - 06:00AM
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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A retired Air Force officer living in North Carolina is admitting he took kickbacks for inside information on contracts for a classified Air Force project and took home documents that could damage national security.

The Fayetteville Observer reports that 52-year-old John Norman Sims of Southern Pines this week agreed to plead guilty to charges including bribery and theft of government property.

Prosecutors say Sims conspired with two other men to defraud the Air Force on contracts worth about $5.5 million.

The retired Air Force officer served as a military contractor in northern Florida from 2004 to 2007. He then was hired as a supervisory intelligence specialist for the classified Air Force project for three years before moving to North Carolina.